Liverpool picked up three valuable points on Saturday, as they won 3-0 against Bournemouth.

It was a pleasure for me to be at Anfield to witness a dazzling attacking display. Liverpool played some fabulous football, carving apart a team who had set up in a 4-5-1 formation for the first time this season in an attempt to keep the red tide at bay.

Wijnaldum appeared to be playing further forward than he usually does, and the data backs that notion up. His average position was the nearest it has been to the opposition goal in any league match this term.

However, average positions can be misleading. Touch the ball on both goal lines and the average is the centre of the pitch. But Liverpool’s number five had five touches in the Bournemouth penalty area, when he’d previously made a total of 21 in opposition boxes in the league this season.

Wijnaldum’s goal was arguably the most important of the match, as it gave the Reds a two goal lead for the first time in 2019. History suggests it almost guaranteed the three points too. Liverpool have lead 62 Premier League matches 2-0 at half time at Anfield, only failing to win on two occasions.

The second half was but three minutes old when Mohamed Salah scored a fine goal. It was one of seven shots he had, equalling the most he has taken in a league match for Liverpool. His shot tally continued a theme of this season, in that the Egyptian has had more goal attempts when playing as a wide forward (where he has averaged 4.3 every 90 minutes) rather than through the middle (2.8).

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Salah linked up superbly with Roberto Firmino throughout the match. Each played 10 passes to the other, falling just one shy of their top combined total figure of 21 which occurred at Wolves. However, the passes at Molineux lead to just one shot, whereas here they fashioned three chances as a pair, most notably the back-heeled clear-cut chance with which Salah made it 3-0.

Bobby also created a top quality opportunity for Trent Alexander-Arnold, while he wasted one of his own when played in by Andy Robertson late on. It was the second time this season Firmino has either created or shot a total of three clear-cut chances in a match, and the first where none of them was a penalty.

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The final player to highlight is Naby Keita. His most eye-catching contribution was his pass to Firmino in the build up to the third goal, but he also topped the table for ball recoveries with 12, and made the most tackles with seven.

With the intensity Jürgen Klopp demands from his team, it’s usually a good sign when they dominate both the ball and the defensive statistics. Liverpool had 66% possession, but made 11 more tackles and 11 more ball recoveries than the visitors did. The Reds were on it from the back of the team to the front, and the Cherries never stood a chance.

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We do have to put this result in to context. This defeat meant Bournemouth became the first side for 13 years to lose eight Premier League away games in a row while conceding at least two goals in each of them.

But we also have to recognise when Liverpool have blown away a side who altered their tactics in a futile attempt to frustrate them. It was a near-perfect performance ahead of a multitude of mouth-watering matches.